Roller bearing



May 24, 1938. p J. RNs 2,118,76@

ROLLER BEARING Filed July 3, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet l fl/s Arr-o ENEfKS.

May 24, 1938. J ERNST 2,118,760

ROLLER BEARING 0 Z 0&0

Filed July 3, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 2415 4 7- roe/15m I/V MAM/fa E.

ay 24, 1938. P. J. ERNST 2,11,760

ROLLER BEARING Filed y 5, 1936 s sheets-sheet 5 ln/ l/EN roe TMgW qm w

14/5 HrrqnNm q Patented May 24, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT ROLLER Brahma a corporation of Ohio Application lluly 3, 1936, Serial No. 88,711

2Claims.

My invention relates to roller bearings, particularly to taper roller bearings that are required to carry a radial load and to withstand end thrust in both directions. The invention has for its principal object a bearing of this type that is compact in construction and that is self-contained. The bearing is particularly adapted for use in automobile pinion shaft mountings and in the wheel bearings of automobile drive axles of the fixed hub or semi-floating type.

The invention consists principally in a taper roller bearing including a series of taper rollers mounted between cup and cone to form a radial type bearing, whose cup is provided with a sleeve portion projecting beyond the large end of the cone, an annular thrust plate mounted in said sleeve portion and a series of taper rollers arranged to form a thrust bearing between said thrust plate and the end of said bearing cone. The invention further consists in the roller bearing and in the parts and combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a pinion shaft mounted in a roller bearing embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the bearing illustrated in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view showing such a bearing mounted at the wheel end of an automobile drive axle of the fixed hub or semi-floating type and provided with a seal for the end of the bearing,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the bearing shown in Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to Fig. 3 showing a modified form of bearing; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a drive axle wheel mounting construction including my bearing.

In Fig. 1 is illustrated a pinion shaft mounting of the straddle type, a pinion shaft I with a pinion 2 thereon projecting into a portion of an axle housing 3. The free end it of said pinion shaft I is mounted in a radial type-ball bearing 5 which is supported on a seat 6 provided therefor in the housing 3. Portions of the ring gear 1 that mesh with said pinion and of the differential spider 8 to which said ring gear is secured are shown in the drawings.

On the other side of the pinion 2 from said radial ball bearing 5 is a duplex taper roller bearing 9 embodying my invention. The cone ill or inner bearing member is seated on said pinion shaft l with its small end directed towards said pinion 2. An annular flange it projecting radially inward at the large end of said cone overlaps a shoulder l2 on said. shaft and shims it are inserted between said shoulder and said flange to properly position said cone it. Seated on the conical raceway of said cone is a series of conical rollers it that are held in a cage l and the cup it or outer bearing member for said rollers is seated in a bore H in said housing against an annular shoulder it therein. The radial load is carried by said series 01 conical rollers it and the thrust in one direction is taken up between said rollers it and the bearing cup I6.

Projecting from said bearing cup it beyond the large end of said bearing cone it is a cyllndrical sleeve portion iii in whose outer end is a countersunk bore in which is mounted an annular thrust plate 2|, the inner face of said thrust plate abutting against an annular shoulder 22 at the inner end of said countersunk bore 20. The opening in said thrust plate it is of larger diameter than the bore of said cone it. The outer peripheral portion 235 of said thrust plate is preferably beveled ofi and the end it of said. bore is correspondingly conical, thereby forming a conical annular space in which is mounted a ring of soft metal 25 to hold the thrust plate 2! in position. The end face it of the cone is flat, being disposed at right angles to the pinion shaft axis and the opposed face of the thrust plate 2i is provided with a conical raceway portion 21 and with a conical thrust shoulder 28 or raceway portion. A series of tamr rollers 29 are interposed between said end face of said cone and said thrust plate.

An annular end cap 30 is secured to the end of the housing as by cap screws 3!! and abuts against the end of the bearing sleeve l9 and thrust plate M to hold the bearing in position. Projecting into the housing is a sleeve 32 which abuts against the flange l l of said bearing cone it and which is held on said shaft, as by a nut 33. The sleeve l9 may be provided with openings M adjacent to the thrust plate M to permit lubricant to enter the bearing.

In Fig. 3 is illustrated a slightly difierent form of bearing wherein the cage is dispensed with and the bearing is made self-contained by means the cup I611, and cone Ella and which is provided with a peripheral flange ll of convex curvature on its inner face which is seated in a correof a closure ring Ml which overlapsthe ends of spondingly concave groove 42 formed in the outer periphery of the bearing cup "a. In said Fig. 3 is illustrated the wheel bearing portion of an automobile axle of the fixed hub or semi-floating type, a portion of the wheel 43 being indicated on the end portion of the axle and the bearing being interposed between an axle 44 and its housing 45.

' In Fig. 5 is illustrated a slightly different form of bearing, wherein the end face of the cone llb and the opposed inner face of the thrust plate lib are both provided with conical raceway portions 58 and with thrust ribs 5| overlapping the ends of the rollers. In this type of bearing, the thrust rollers are disposed with their axes at right angles to the axis of the radial portion of the bearing.

In Fig. 6 is shown the end portion of an automobile drive axle of the three-quarter floating type, wherein the driving axle section 6| has a flanged end 6| that is secured to a radial face 62 of a wheel hub member 83 as by bolts 84 and nuts G5. The cup I of the duplex taper roller bearing is mounted in said wheel member with the end of the sleeve portion II and a portion of the thrust plate 2| seated against and backed by an outwardly facing shoulder 6 in said hub member. The cone a is mounted on a, hollow axle member 61' through which the drive axle section ill extends, the large end of the cone abutting against a spacer sleeve '8 on said hollow axle 61 and the small end of the cone being held by means of a nut 68 mounted on the threaded end of the hollow axle '61. An annular oil seal I0 is mounted in the inner end of the wheel hub member 63 back of the thrust plate 2i and fits around the spacer sleeve '8. The flange ii of the drive axle section has an inwardly projecting sleeve portion Ii that abuts against the bearing cup. The duplex taper roller bearing hereinbefore described is compact in construction, it is selfcontained and it carries radial load as well as withstanding end thrust in both directions. Obviously the bearing may be used in many combinations besides those illustrated and numerous changes may be made without departing from the invention.

What I claim is:

1. The combination of an axle having an outwardly facing shoulder, a housing therefor having an outwardly facing internal shoulder and a duplex taper roller bearing interposed between said axle and said housing, said duplex bearing comprising a bearing cone on said axle abutting at its large end against said shoulder, conical rollers between said cup and said cone, said cup having a sleeve portion projecting beyond the large end of said cone and abutting against said internal shoulder, an annular thrust plate mounted in the end of said sleeve portion. taper thrust rollers interposed between said thrust plate and the end face of said cone, said annular thrust plate constituting a sealing ring for said axle.

2. The combination of an axle having an outwardly facing shoulder, a housing therefor having an outwardly facing internal shoulder and a duplex taper roller bearing interposed between said axle and said housing, said duplex bearing comprising a bearing cone on said axle abutting at its large end against said shoulder, conical rollers between said cup and said cone, said cup having a sleeve portion projecting beyond the large end of said cone and abutting against said internal shoulder, an annular thrust plate mounted in the end of said sleeve portion, taper thrust rollers interposed between said thrust plate and the end face of said cone, and a sealing ring secured to the outer end of said cup and overlapping the small end of said cone.

PAUL J. ERNST. 

